Cheyenne, Wyoming

Cheyenne WY.  The name itself speaks of legends and history.  Rugged cowboys, and I mean rugged cowboys still roam the streets.  Very nice scenic town. LOL   Walking downtown you can't miss seeing the old Union Pacific Depot.  It's now houses a restored 1920-era lobby,  a museum, restaurant  and a visitor center.  There is a park out in front with colorful painted western boots, all differently decorated.  Cheyenne is also home to a very large Wrangler store.  

The Nelson Museum of the West was  just full of exhibits including Indian aretifacts, cowboy trappings, early weapons and outlaw memorabilia.

Just before the Nebraska line in Pine Bluff there is a shrine  to
Our Lady of Peace.  It is five stories tall and is the largest statue of the Virgin Mary in the US. 

We also stopped at Cabela's national headquarters along I-80 in Sidney.   The store is above the High Plains and can be seen for several miles in every direction.  The grounds are lovely with a 3 1/2-acre pond and a 16-foot, three ton bronze sculpture of two battling bull elk.  They also have an RV park there, a dog kennel, and even  a horse corral!   This store is designed to help both the traveler and the avid outdoor enthusiast.

Our next stop was in Ogallala, NE.  This town is called Nebraska's Cowboy Capital".  Again with the cowboys.   I tell you ladies, this has been my week.

While we were in the area we wanted to see the Lake McMonaughy Recreation Area.   It is hailed as Nebraska's biggest playground.  This is 100 miles of shoreline, used for fishing, swimming, camping, boating and the 50 megawatt Kingsley Dam Hydro-electric Plant.  This lake is stocked with 35,000 trout yearly.

Be kind to each other.

Happy Anniversary To Us

HAPPY
            ANNIVERSARY
                                       TO US

47 YEARS  Holy Cow!

Happy Anniversary to our friends Shirley and Gary also.

Salt Lake City

  Our primary reason for this visit to Salt Lake is to do research at the History Center.   This library is the largest repository of genealogical records in the world.  Just entering the door, I feel like a kid in a candy store.   On this visit I concentrated on my mother's English heritage.    She was orphan at a young age and sent to the states to be raised by an aunt.   I found out my grandmother died in childbirth at the age of 37  and when my grandfather died six years later at age 44.  

 On the way home from the library we stopped at Chuck-A-Rama for dinner.  It was delicious.  

 One  of the amazing sites to see here is the Kennecott Utah Copper's Bingham Canyon Mine.   This is a copper, gold and silver mine.  It has been nicknamed "the Richest Hole on Earth."  

Bingham Canyon is also the biggest hole on earth. As the largest of all man-made excavations, Bingham Canyon is more than a half-mile deep. If the world's tallest building, the 1,454-foot-high Sears Tower, were placed at the bottom of the pit, it would reach only halfway to the mine's rim. The Bingham Canyon open pit stretches more than 2.5 miles across at the rim and covers 2,000 acres. Its immensity makes it the only manmade feature visible to the naked eye from the orbiting space shuttle.   The only other man made object visible from space is the Great Wall of China, or so I'm told.

Take care of each other, we're off to Wyoming tomorrow.

The Great Salt Lake

  Yesterday we went and  checked out the great Salt Lake.  The Salt Lake is four times saltier than the ocean and is 11,000 Square miles.  It is a shallow lake averaging 13 feet deep, and it goes without saying that it is no place for powerboats.  Sailboats and canoes rule here. 

 There is an island on the lake, Antelope Island, home to antelope and bison.   There is also a marina here catering to the saltiest sailors on earth".  LOL   Seriously though, there are about 360 filled slips at the marina.  

 Right down the road from the marina is the Saltair resort, which is a modern-day remnant of the original Saltair, which was much more elaborate.   The first was built in 1893, intended to be the Western counterpart to Coney Island.    It even had  train service and a roller coaster.  It's not as glamour's today as in the past, but the new owners are working hard to complete the renovations. More info on Saltair  http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Quarters/7736/saltair.html

Happy Days Are Here Again

Happy Days Are Here Again

  I wish you could see the big happy face I have today. 

   Back to civilization and I am one happy camper.   We have a telephone signal, a laptop and a Walmart.  Yaaa Whooo.  Today we went to the Walmart with a long list.  It is a new one with a regular parking lot and a  second level parking lot.  When you enter the store you must take the escalator down.  When you are finished, there are two escalators side by side going up.  One for you and one for your shopping cart.  The greeter hooks it up and you pick it up at the top.  Pretty cool.  She told us this was the first in the country.  

Yesterday I went to the History Center here in Salt Lake.  It'd the best  in the world for genealogy.  Guess what  I found?    My elusive grandfather in England.  He died in 1908.   From there I found his parents .  You see, I never knew any of my mothers family as she and her sister were sent to the states when she was 11 and her sister was 6.  They were sent, all alone on a 10 day  trip to Massachusetts.    I still do not know what orphanage they were in, but am working on it.  

 Tonight after church we went to Chuck O Rama.  Yummy.  Tomorrow we will do some sightseeing.     I'm so happy to be back in the fold.          Catch you later.

Zion National Park

Last week we visited Zion National Park but was unable to post an entry.  Better late than never,  I always say..

The weather is rainy but just like the mailmen we must go on.   You see we are sure the weather man must be wrong.  Well, today he wasn't and we are in shorts, DAH,  why are people looking at us.

We on our way to Zion National Park where they charge $20 to get in but we have our handy dandy senior pass, so free for us!
Cars are not allowed in the park but they provide a shuttle around the canyon taking the scenic route.   These shuttles stop along the way at different trails and sightsseeing areas.  The park is  a haven for hiking, canyoneering, horseback riding, camping, and rock climbing.  The trails vary in length and skill ability.   One of the trails lead to  Weeping Rock..  This is a short but steep trail ending at a rock alcove with dripping springs.  Now the interesting part of this is that the water dripping out took 4,ooo years to get to that point.  So the rain that hit the top on that particular mountain route will not get to the weeping rock for 4000 years.  Isn't that amazing?

Be good, take care of each other.v

Heading to Salt Lake

This morning we left Delta for Salt Lake, and I am so happy to be on our way.   I have had enough of no phone signal and no internet.

 We had  a memorable visit here meeting several townies and other travelers.  Parked to our right were Lee and Lanora from Parker, AZ.  Their card says "If we are not here, we are probably somewhere else."  Pretty cute aye?   On our other side we had visitors from England and Germany.  For their 60th birthday, their children gave them this trip to the states.  She is going to email me for details of my English heritage and see what she can find for me. 

While food shopping we ended up talking with the President of the Senior Center here.  She and her husband invited us to come to lunch there, can't go wrong here folks, $2.25 each and lots of friendly faces.  In fact we got a write up in the local weekly paper.   On one of our visits there they had gentleman who many years ago worked at the Topaz Relocation Camp.    He was extremely interesting  and brought pictures to pass around.

We  also had a young man Kurt, who camped in a tent across the way from us.  We became friends  for the few days he was here.  He came  from Minnesota to dig for fossils.  We invited him in for dinner and to play cards one night and he brought a delicious cake his wife had made him for the trip.  Before he left he gave us a fossil and a gem from Topaz Mountain he had found there.  He left this morning for home and promised to email us of his safe arrival home. 

Bob played a lot of golf here at the Sunset View Golf course, which is one of his favorites. Two years ago he had made friends with a Dan who retired from the Air Force and hooked up again with him.  Dan and his wife Linda went with us to get the best ribs in Utah.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

     We are sitting here in a parking lot, in our car, about 15 miles from Delta, the only place I can get a signal on our phone.   I just had to  say hello to you all and ask that you forgive me for not visiting  your journals.  By next weekend, we should be able to go on line without any problems.  We are planning on leaving here next Friday.
  Being from Massachusetts, we are enjoying the beautiful Utah Mountains, still snow capped, I would add.   
  After church we went out to dinner with another campers.  Bob is pampering me as he knows that Mother's Day is  most difficult for me.  Well, before I start babbling and feeling sorry for myself I will say so long for now.  Happy mothers Day ladies.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day Ladies.  Hope you are all treated as Queens.   Love to all. Dawn

Out InThe Boonies

Hi Everyone,    Thanks for visiting me.  We are in Delta Utah and there uis no phone service here.  The cell phone is just not receiving any signal.  I'm at the library now.  Catch you all later.   Dawn